The World Around Us

Month: December 2017

Throughout history, no art movement has had an impact as profound as Italian Renaissance art. Regarded as a golden age of art, music, and literature, the period has inspired creatives for centuries, with iconic works by master artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo serving as muses.

Here, we explore the history and trace the trends of the revolutionary movement, paying particular attention to the aesthetic characteristics and artistic techniques that define it.

What is the Italian Renaissance?

The Italian Renaissance occurred between the 14th and 17 centuries in Italy. Derived from the word Rinascimento, or “rebirth,” the Renaissance is generally seen as an enlightened age of art and architecture due to a renewed cultural interest in classical antiquity.

“The Early Renaissance” denotes the period between 1400 and 1490, when artists like Fra Angelico and Botticelli began to experiment with realism.

Between 1490 and 1527, well-known Italian artists like Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael produced particularly celebrated works of art. This period of time is often referred to as the “High Renaissance.”

History

During the Dark Ages (approximately 500-1000 AD), Italian art was predominantly rooted in religion. In painting, this unique approach was characterized by spiritual iconography, flat compositions, unrealistic color palettes, and ethereal, otherworldly figures. In the 1300s, however, Italian artists based in Florence abandoned this distinctive aesthetic and adopted a more humanist approach to art. This time of change would eventually be known as the Italian Renaissance.

While the exact impetus of the Italian Renaissance is not known, many scholars believe that the shift was due to economic instability, as 14th century Italy’s lack of investment opportunities prompted wealthy individuals to instead fund the arts. This increased interest in art lasted for several centuries and had a profound influence on Italian painting, sculpture, and architecture.

This holiday season we’ve seen many museums and galleries around the world increase their generous offerings of digitized art. Museums that have joined the digital world include The National Gallery, Tate Modern, and The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), to name just a few. Now with over 600,000 digitized works of art, Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum is part of this educational community of art liberation, which has successfully more-than-quadrupled their collection since launching the Rijksstudio in 2012.

The Rijksstudio’s extensive collection includes 17th century Dutch paintings from some of the old Dutch Masters, such as Rembrandt, Frans Hals, and Johannes Vermeer. The Portrait collection features works from the 14th century to the present day, and even contains a Self-Portrait by Van Gogh, painted in 1887. Other themes include Landscapes, containing Hendrick Avercamp’s Winter landscape with skaters, and Still Lifes.

In addition to paintings, the Rijksmuseum archive includes photographs of historical furniture and interiors, applied arts, and fashion. The museum also owns an astonishing 7,250 ceramic objects, some of which have been documented and added to the Rijksstudio Ceramics collection.

The high-resolution images are free to download once you sign up to become a member of Rijksstudio. You can then save your favorite works to your self-curated art collections, download and create prints, and share your finds on social media.

The Rijksmuseum digital archive of over 600,000 works of art includes the work of Dutch Masters…

“Winter landscape with skaters” by Hendrick Avercamp, c. 1608

“Pronkstilleven” by Adriaen van Utrecht, 1644

“Still life with flowers and a watch” by Abraham Mignon, c. 1660 – c. 1679

“Latona and the Lycian farmers” by Jan Brueghel (I), c. 1605

…as well as photographs of historical furniture, ceramics, and fashion.

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A new day starts at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming as the moon sets behind a mountain shining with alpenglow. It’s just another magical moment from this remarkable natural treasure. Photo by Jacob W. Frank, National Park Service.

Happy New Year’s Eve! 🎊🎉🎊

We’re ending the year with our most popular post in 2017: A full moon at Yellowstone National Park. It’s just another magical moment from this remarkable natural treasure. Photo by Jacob W. Frank, National Park Service.

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Over the past two decades, most of the land used for Jewish settlements in the West Bank has been acquired on the grounds that it belongs to the state. This tactic has enabled Israeli leaders to maintain that the state of Israel does not confiscate land from Palestinians to build settlements.

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Already a magical place, the dense forests of Olympic National Park in Washington dazzle with a delicate lining of frost and snow. From mountain peaks to sandy beaches, Olympic offers visitors a wide variety of landscapes and adventures. It’s the perfect place to discover the Pacific Northwest, and maybe yourself, too. Photo by Megan Juran, National Park Service.

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Without mayonnaise, there could be no New Year in the Soviet Union. But you could never just buy mayonnaise. You could only get it, sometimes in a favor exchange, sometimes at a special distribution center for important people, like party members or employees of the commerce sphere, most of whom were party members also, so it was one and the same thing. Some trade union members could access mayonnaise, too, though I never figured out which ones; my mother’s union couldn’t.

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Texas-based woodworking artist and YouTube star Bobby Duke specializes in hand-carved wooden sculptures and stone carvings. For his latest creation, Duke created an illusionary floating mug sculpture that looks like it’s pouring liquefied colored pencils. The mug is cleverly carved from a single block of basswood, while the “liquid” is made from hundreds of Crayola colored pencils that have been glued together and sanded into a flowing shape that cascades to form a “splash” at the base. A clear resin finish gives the piece an amazing liquid shine.

Duke films the creation of every piece he makes, which he shares with his fan base of over 250,000 Youtube subscribers. Despite his professional sculpting skills, Duke also has a less serious side that comes across in his videos. For his Floating Cup Pencil Carving video, Duke introduces it saying, “In this video, we travel yet further into my twisted mind and sense of humor.” The episode takes the viewer through the entire process, from Duke’s hilarious over-excitement when shopping for wood, to his evident delirium when his crazy idea becomes a reality.